The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

YMSM 244
Portrait of M. R. Elden (2)

Portrait of M. R. Elden (2)

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1882
Collection: Whereabouts Unknown
Accession Number: none
Medium: oil
Support: unknown
Size: unknown
Signature: unknown
Inscription: unknown
Frame: unknown

Date

Portrait of M. R. Elden (2) probably dates from 1882. 1 It is dated from Whistler's known association with Matthew Robinson Elden (1839-1885).

According to the Pennells, it was a small version of the Portrait of H. R. Eldon (1) y243 (which has not been located) and was submitted to the London Whistler Memorial Exhibition of 1905, but rejected. 2

Images

Portrait of M. R. Elden (2), Whereabouts unknown
Portrait of M. R. Elden (2), Whereabouts unknown

Portrait of M. R. Eldon (3), Private Collection
Portrait of M. R. Eldon (3), Private Collection

Subject

Titles

The 1980 title gave the sitter's name incorrectly:

'Portrait of M. R. Elden (2)' is the preferred title.

Description

According to the Pennells, this painting was a small version of Portrait of H. R. Eldon (1) y243. 4 It was, they said, 'a small half length ... it may be a copy.' 5 Since the original portrait is missing it is impossible to tell what it really looked like.

Sitter

The artist Matthew Robinson Elden (1839-1885) was a close friend and frequent visitor to Whistler's studio from about 1876 until he went mad, dying in an asylum.

Portrait of M. R. Eldon (3), Private Collection
Portrait of M. R. Eldon (3), Private Collection

Whistler painted three portraits of him, Portrait of H. R. Eldon (1) y243, Portrait of H. R. Eldon (2) y244, and Portrait of H. R. Eldon (3) y245, which is the only one extant.

His name, incorrectly spelled as 'Eldon' in earlier publications, was corrected to 'Elden' in the online Whistler Correspondence edition in 2003.

Technique

Technique

Unknown.

Conservation History

Unknown.

Frame

Unknown.

History

Provenance

According to the Pennells, it was submitted to the London Whistler Memorial Exhibition of 1905, but rejected. 6 Then, in 1911 the Pennells stated that 'a small half length ... is now in New York.' 7 Nothing further is known about it.

Exhibitions

According to the Pennells, this painting, a small version of Portrait of H. R. Eldon (1) y243, was sent to the Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905, but not hung. 8

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

Authored by Whistler

Catalogues 1855-1905

Journals 1855-1905

Monographs

Books on Whistler

Books, General

Catalogues 1906-Present

Journals 1906-Present

Websites

Unpublished

Other


Notes:

1: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 244).

2: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, p. 303.

3: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 244).

4: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, p. 303.

5: Pennell 1911 A [more], p. 211.

6: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, p. 303.

7: Pennell 1911 A [more], p. 211.

8: Pennell 1908, op. cit., p. 303.